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Redevelopment of Manhattan’s Pier 57 Moved Forward With City Council Approval

by Vincenza Di Maggio

Pier 57. (Courtesy Wikipedia)

As Spring approaches, perhaps in the spirit of rejuvenation, the New York City Council has unanimously approved plans to revitalize Manhattan’s Pier 57, the historic pier located at 15th Street and the Hudson River. In 2009 architecture firm Young Woo & Associates set in motion a plan to transform the Pier into a multi-use cultural, retail, and restaurant hub, and, with the City Council’s approval in hand, the developers can finally begin the long-awaited redevelopment of the pier.

Pier 57 was built in 1952 by Emil Praeger. At the time of construction the engineer received great acclaim for his pioneering design—the Pier floats on three buoyant hollow concrete boxes that were flooded down the river. The new plan to restore the historic landmark conserves the original framing while renovating the 375,000 square feet of interior and rooftop space.

While Young Woo & Associates would not release new renderings of the updated design, previous renderings hint at what may be in store. The plan’s most enticing design feature involves the repurposing of sixty 160-square-foot “Incuboxes,” or shipping containers, which will be leased to artisans and merchants for $3,000 a month and used for retail and restaurant space.

Additionally, the new plans call for adding an amphitheater and a marketplace featuring recycled airplane fuselages that will serve as food kiosks and performance spaces. A public green rooftop, “Sky Park,” will offer waterfront views of the river and New Jersey and will be used to host exhibitions and performances, as well a serve as the Tribeca Film Festivals permanent outdoor venue.

Construction of the new and improved Pier 57 is expected to begin in October, with completion targeted for 2015. Hudson River Park Trust Chairperson Diana Taylor said in a statement, “I am so pleased that this project which is so vital to the Park can now go forward. This new Pier will include sorely needed open spaces for Park visitors and will result in much needed revenue to help operate and maintain the Park to the high standards we have come to expect.”

NYC’s Abandoned Pier 57 to be Revitalized by a Huge Shipping Container Complex

by catherine ku

Pier 57, abandoned for almost a decade, will be revived by 2015. Source: Blouin Artinfo.

Just a few months ago Pier 57 was a floating concrete box that sat abandoned on the Hudson River at the end of 15th Street on the West Side Highway. But with the approval of the city council this past April, the renovated three-acre complex will be built from repurposed shipping containers and promises to be a lively junction of art, fashion, film and food. Plans call for a number of retail shops and restaurants and over 100,000 feet of outdoor public space, to be completed in 2015.

The space was used as a bus station by the NYC Transit Authority until 2003, when they vacated the pier. Since then, Pier 57 has been used sparingly, first to house protestors arrested during the 2004 Republican National Convention, and then as the site of the Collective .1 Design Fair this past May. Currently, the pier is hosting the art exhibition “T.I.N.Y,” or The Interactive New York, which transports viewers to NYC in the nineties by projecting images and sounds from that decade.

Behind this transformation is architect Young Woo, who was profiled by Blouin Artinfo this month. Woo also designed Brooklyn’s DeKalb Market, an excellent example of what he can do with shipping containers. Woo’s plans for the complex also include a rooftop park, an artificial beach club and a permanent outdoor venue for the Tribeca Film Festival.

Pier 57's long road to redevelopment just logged another notch: it's launched an official website, replete with new renderings, a video, GIFs, cute pixelated animations, and, oh yeah, information about leasing for potential tenants. The heroic-sounding, in-limbo SuperPier, developed by the ambitious Youngwoo and Associates, has thus far been host to some temporary fashion and art installations, but the whole place will close next month for construction until it reopens in the summer of 2015. That's when stacks of "incuboxes" (sort of like modular containers) will make up a $200 million food and retail complex populated with local creative companies.

Announced anchor tenants include a spa and restaurant by Andre Balazs, a boutique by Opening Ceremony, and a climbing gym by Brooklyn Boulders. On its new site, SuperPier says it's on the hunt for more tenants to fill the 270,000 square feet, such as "global retailers, entrepreneurs, big brands trying new things, square watermelons." Huh? Apparently, "20 superspaces" are available, ranging from 3,000 to 20,000 square feet. The site proclaims: "SuperPier will be the most innovative experience in culture, entertainment, dining, and retail in NYC since the opening of Rockefeller Center in 1939." For more hyperbolic marketing bells & whistles, a teaser video hints at what's to come after the makeover—using buzzwords like "Marvel!" "Mysteries!" "Colossal!" "Dramatic!" "Delights!"—but one thing it wants to make clear is that this is "Not A Mall." Currently seeking new definitions for what exactly it is, then.

Click the image blow to see a a GIF of the pier's future construction in incubox module increments.